The deal for Braintree would give PayPal access to data and lucrative transaction fees from Braintree’s expanding network, which currently processes more than $10 billion annually for companies like OpenTable, Uber Technologies and Airbnb. Braintree charges merchants a 2.9% commission and 30-cent transaction fee.

More companies are reaching into the mobile payments industry — and for good reason: The smartphone technologies are rapidly becoming more popular, and consumer data is easily captured and used to advance products and services.

The Wall Street Journal noted that research firm Gartner “expects the mobile-payments market to grow by 31% this year to $235.4 billion — and to increase by more than three-fold by 2017.”